No. 4 Texas travels to Gainesville on Thursday to face a Florida team in the midst of the most challenging stretch any SEC program has ever faced — three consecutive games against top-six opponents in a seven-day span.
Texas Women’s Basketball Projected Starting Lineup
- Rori Harmon
- Jordan Lee
- Justice Carlton
- Breya Cunningham
- Madison Booker
Florida Women’s Basketball Projected Starting Lineup
- Liv McGill
- Laila Reynolds
- Emilija Dakic
- Caterina Piatti
- Me’Arah O’Neal
Texas Rebounds from Back-to-Back Top-10 Losses
The Longhorns opened the season 18-0 before running into the SEC’s elite on back-to-back road trips. Texas fell 70-65 at LSU on Jan. 11 and 68-65 at No. 2 South Carolina on Jan. 15, suffering its first losses of the year.
Vic Schaefer’s squad bounced back emphatically with an 80-35 demolition of Texas A&M on Jan. 18, only to have its Arkansas game postponed due to inclement weather.
Madison Booker leads the Longhorns at 19.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.57 steals per game. The junior forward was named SEC Preseason Player of the Year after earning First Team All-America honors and winning the conference’s Player of the Year award last season.
Sophomore guard Jordan Lee has emerged as a dangerous secondary scorer at 14.2 points per game while shooting 35.2% from three-point range.
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Texas ranks fifth nationally in scoring (88.8 points per game) and fifth in scoring defense (53.0 points allowed). The Longhorns’ defensive identity shines even brighter in conference play, where they allow an SEC-low 57.3 points per game.
Senior center Kyla Oldacre provides interior presence at 6’6″, averaging 11.7 points while shooting 64.3% from the field. Fifth-year point guard Rori Harmon, a two-time All-American, orchestrates the offense and anchors the defensive effort.
Liv McGill Powers Florida Through Brutal Stretch
The Gators enter Thursday’s contest off an 89-60 loss at No. 6 LSU on Monday, though they held the nation’s top-scoring offense to just 36 first-half points before the Tigers pulled away. Following the Texas game, Florida travels to No. 5 Vanderbilt on Sunday, completing an unprecedented gauntlet that no SEC team has faced during the regular season.
Sophomore point guard Liv McGill has been sensational despite Florida’s struggles in conference play.
McGill averages 23.0 points, 5.8 assists, and 2.85 steals per game, putting her firmly in contention for the Nancy Lieberman Award despite being left off the preseason watch list. Earlier this season, she became the first player in Florida women’s basketball history to earn USBWA National Player of the Week honors.
McGill recently became the 28th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points and now sits at 1,070, just 28 points behind Janna Bragg for 24th on the all-time list.
Sophomore forward Me’Arah O’Neal, daughter of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, provides a formidable frontcourt presence at 6’4″. O’Neal averages 13.5 points and 6.9 rebounds while adding defensive versatility with 1.5 blocks per game. Junior guard Laila Reynolds rounds out the scoring attack at 12.5 points per game.
Booker vs. McGill Headlines Scoring Showdown
Thursday’s matchup features two of the SEC’s most dynamic guards. Booker’s all-around excellence, evidenced by her near triple-double averages, will be tested by McGill’s explosive scoring ability.
McGill has recorded three games this season with at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists, and five steals; all other Division I players combined have just eight such performances.
Texas crushed Florida 72-46 in their inaugural SEC meeting last season, holding the Gators to 33.3% shooting and just 1-of-18 from beyond the arc. Florida leads the all-time series 3-2, but all four previous meetings came in the 1990s.
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The Longhorns’ rebounding advantage could prove decisive. Texas outrebounds opponents by 10.0 per game, while Florida holds just a plus-2.0 margin. If Texas controls the glass, the Gators will need McGill to produce another spectacular individual performance to keep pace.
Fourth-year head coach Kelly Rae Finley’s squad hasn’t beaten a ranked opponent since last March’s SEC Tournament win over No. 20 Alabama.
How to Watch Texas vs. Florida
- Date: Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Location: Gainesville, Fla.
- Arena: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center
- TV Channel: SEC Network+
- Live Stream: ESPN+ / SEC Network+
- Radio: WRUF 98.1 FM / 850 AM (Florida); Longhorn Radio Network (Texas)
